How on earth do you dramatise climate change? The best answer so far was Steve Waters' double bill, The Contingency Plan, which approached the vast topic through personal relationships and dialectical debate. This multi-authored piece by Moira Buffini, Matt Charman, Penelope Skinner and Jack Thorne instead offers a kaleidoscope of intersecting narratives; the result, while well staged, lacks focus.

At least one thing is clear: climate change is a divisive topic. Lisa, training to be a teacher, angers her parents by turning into an ecological activist. Phoebe, a Miliband policy wonk, jeopardises a relationship with a climate modeller by her environmental passion. A mother and daughter wrangle intensely over the practicalities of saving the planet. And these micro-divisions are amplified on a gigantic scale through a re-creation of the 2009 Copenhagen conference when procedural wrangles took precedence over positive action, despite a belated intervention by Barack Obama.

You could argue that the play accurately reflects society's fractured uncertainty over how to tackle climate change: through political negotiation, disruptive demonstrations or myriad individual gestures. And there are moments that stick in the memory. One is when an Arctic observer communes with his younger self and both find themselves threatened by a prowling polar bear. I was also struck by a scene where the climatologist says of the environment, "It's not a religion, Phoebe", only to be vehemently told, "Of course it is." But the show starts with a big issue and then seeks ways to illustrate it. I suspect it would be more fruitful to take the more traditional route of beginning with characters and a situation and working outwards.

What we get is a somewhat confusing, multi-perspective mosaic. I wouldn't deny that it is well intentioned and researched. Bunny Christie, one of our most imaginative designers, has also created on stage a world on the verge of disintegration. And director Bijan Sheibani marshals his role-swapping, 15-strong ensemble with great skill and comes up with some powerful effects.

But this two-hour show is unlikely to shift anyone's perspective. Those concerned over climate change will have their worst fears confirmed, and deniers are unlikely to find their prejudices dented. I have a hunch, in fact, that the plethora of pre-show platforms will generate as much drama as we find in a play that stabs the conscience without offering a perceptible point of view.